


Becoming A Fallen Angel for Dummies

by gadridel



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Cherubim Aziraphale, Crowley Was Raphael Before He Fell (Good Omens), Gen, I fell fast and hard for this help me, Other, au where they also met in heaven before Crowley fell
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-21
Updated: 2019-06-28
Packaged: 2020-05-15 20:58:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19303714
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gadridel/pseuds/gadridel
Summary: He was an archangel. He'd go by Crowley, one day, when circumstances became different and wings were turned to ashen black. But for right now, in this moment, his name was Raphael.--Based on the theory that Crowley was Raphael before he fell. It's also an AU where Crowley and Az meet in heaven.





	1. A Cherubim and an Archangel

In ages long past, in years long before the eventual ineffability and great wars and mankind, before the creation of the final battlefield to be dubbed "Earth", there was Heaven, God, and Her angels. 

 

Heaven was rather sparse, back then. Mostly clear open skies and clouds to walk upon. Angels wore drapes of cloth latched together with golden clasps, and stretched out their wings in an ever-blue sky. Angels were more numerous. " _Demons_ " didn't currently exist, and " _fallen angel_ " was a term yet to be coined. The heavenly beings spent their days out constructing their universe, filling up the infinite sky with stars and planets and solar systems aplenty. 

 

Within the everlasting Heaven was a special, quiet place. The clouds parted slightly, a river rushing and spilling downwards into a lake, shimmering gold and blue as it reflected the light from the sky. A single angel approached the glistening water. Angels didn't need rest, or relaxation- they were not supposed to rest- but this one couldn't help but let himself secretly indulge every now and then. Designing Alpha Centauri had really taken quite the toll from him. 

 

He was quite tall and lean, with locks of soft, delicately wavy auburn hair. It contrasted against the sharp, jutting features of his face, with prominent cheekbones and eyes full of glistening, fiery yellow sparks. 

 

He was an archangel. He'd go by Crowley, one day, when circumstances became different and wings were turned to ashen black. But for right now, in this moment, his name was Raphael. 

 

Slowly he kneeled down, dipping his fingers into the cool waters. It gave him a pleasant tingle across his skin. While most angels preferred to be incorporeal- much more convenient to do things that way- Raphael had always relished in the sensation of ... well, sensation. Having the ability to _feel_ and to _touch_ was ethereal all on its own. He only wished more beings participated in it. 

 

Time passed quietly, and the river continued to flow. 

 

Raphael had taken to pulling up the lower part of the fine cloth covering his body to expose his legs, dipping them from the knee down into the water as he sat on the shore. His eyes were close to closing when he heard a rustling, and immediately perked up to attention, eyes wide as his gaze fell upon another being. 

 

"Oh, my. I didn't realize someone was here- I'll leave you alone." Their voice was soft, if not softly muffled by the feathers held in front of their- well, their everything. They were vaguely transparent, nearly impossible to truly see, with two sets of wings near completely covering the entirety of their body. A bit of their head peeked up over their feathers, and Raphael couldn't decipher whether he was looking a particularly bright halo or a head of golden curls.

 

They seemed to be backing away. Before they had managed to completely take their leave, however, Raphael called out for them. 

 

"What's a cherubim doing in a place like this? Being so close to God and all that, surely you have somewhere better to be." Curiosity itched in Raphael's mind. He'd never seen another being out here before. 

 

They stuttered a moment, wings slightly flapping as they floundered to answer the question. "Well, there's not- there's not really anywhere that needs me, quite yet. God hasn't sent me any which ways. So I ... supposed I'd go out and find somewhere to protect until then." They turned towards the stream. "I've seen this place before. Certainly seems like something special to me." 

 

Raphael's eyebrows raised in surprise. Most of his peers and subordinates were so focused on their work, so dedicated to serving God, they rarely did anything of this sort. Seeing a being so high in regard to engage in such an activity.... it was near scandalous.

 

"So you're doing your own thing, then?” The words _‘interesting, fascinating, tell me more about why you do this?’_ craved to leave his mouth. “What's your name? Surely you've got one." He finally stood up from the water and let his clothes drape back down over his feet. 

 

"Aziraphale." One of the upper sets of wings seemed to move slightly, like they were trying to peer outwards at him. 

 

"Pleasure, Aziraphale. I’m Raphael- archangel. Much lower than you are.” He crossed his arms one over the other. As he spoke the other had more fully parted his wings, and Raphael could see but the slightest peek at what he looked like. His face was rectangular, but softened at the edges- in fact, he looked quite soft all around. A quick look atop his head proved that yes, those were curls. 

 

"You're... corporeal." Aziraphale noted, gazing up and down at Raphael's body, in... was that shock, amazement? It was surprisingly hard to read the expression of a four-faced being. Probably due to the fact that the only one he could see was mostly covered. 

 

"Wow, look at that. Indeed I am!" Raphael did a quick turnaround, faking shock at his own appearance. 

 

"But- why? What could possibly be the point in that?" Aziraphale spoke slowly, like he was trying to figure out the answer to the equation in his head as he talked. 

 

"Has there got to really be a reason for it? If anything, I ask- why not? Why not indulge in the little things? What could possibly be the harm in it?" As to prove his point, Raphael leaned down and stuck his hand in the water once again. It flowed against his fingers, interrupting the otherwise immaculate stream. "To feel things, its truly the epitome of existence. Why create the wind and the water, and not feel them? Why make stones cool and hard and grass soft and delicate if not to feel the difference?" He was rambling at this point, mouth running past his better sense to _shut up_.

 

Aziraphale seemed to be seriously considering his point, for a split second, before the Heaven-induced immunity to questioning one's existence kicked in. 

 

"You might not be quite aware of it, but you ask a lot of dangerous questions, Raphael." The cherub had gone back to covering his face once more. Raphael hadn't so quickly forgotten his initial curiosity, though. A _cherubim_ , of all things, listening to him.

 

"I like to question a lot of things, angel. Someone around here has got to."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The second meeting. Change is coming to shake Heaven in a way that it has never before experienced.

Raphael didn’t see Aziraphale again for awhile. He continued to visit the hidden lake every now and then, but it seemed as though he truly had scared off the cherubim with all his insistent questioning. (Although this had happened to anyone Raphael had ever proposed such inquiries with. Angels really were a prickly bunch.) 

 

Heaven had really been turned on its head. An archangel had gone and gotten cocky, got  _ prideful _ . His mouth watered for the glory that God held within her hands, but couldn’t handle such an  otherworldly delight. God had burned his unworthy tongue and sent him out of Heaven. 

 

The now-fallen angel had gone and created his own kingdom, and managed to ensnare a few other angels to jump down into the abyss with him. They were calling him  _ Lucifer, Satan.  _ If you were to ask him, Raphael would say it was quite the dramatic uproar in response to a single angel’s strange rebelliousness. But no one ever asked him anything. 

 

Grand meetings of all of the angels of Heaven were called forth, debates and discussions in constant session to figure out what they were going to do about the newly-formed Hell. Most of the angels seemed offended that anyone could hope to challenge their ultimate glory under God. They were better- they  _ had _ to be better! They’d prove it, too! 

 

Raphael didn’t know it back then, but that’s when the whole blasted thing had started for real. The plans, the ineffability, the birth of a rivalry that would shape his future and change him more than he could hope to comprehend. It would help him find the things he hated- oh, but it would help him find the things he loved. It would bring him to the people he loved so tenderly, the beings he so secretly cared for and adored underneath layers of sarcasm and faux passiveness. He just had to go through Hell to get it. 

 

It was in the very back of a meeting room where he saw Aziraphale again. The coliseum was packed full of bodies, all flying and flitting about, speaking and mumbling to themselves and to the crowd. The two of them were several rows apart, till Raphael managed to move through the crowd and take a seat next to Aziraphale. 

 

“Raphael.” The cherubim leaned over slightly, exposing the corner of his face and a single eye. “It's been quite awhile, hasn’t it?” 

 

Raphael’s eyes widened. “Surprising that you remembered my name, Aziraphale.” He turned his body slightly inwards towards the other, the rambling of the meeting becoming white noise in his ears. He wasn’t really listening anyways. 

 

“Well, it would be hard  _ not  _ to remember who you are, after that peculiar first impression you made on me.” Aziraphale’s voice was soft, but clear. Maybe it was just how much Raphael was focusing on it. 

 

“Most choose to forcibly remove the memory of ever talking to me from their minds.” Raphael smirked and leaned back in the seat, throwing his arm over the back. “Strange business with this Lucifer fellow. What do you make of it?” 

 

Aziraphale didn’t hesitate. “He challenged God’s word directly, and got punished. I believe the whole thing is very straightforward. This-” He gestured outwards to the communion of angels. “-Seems very unnecessary, however. He’s already been punished.” 

 

“Seems like quite the punishment for one wrongdoing. Isn’t God supposed to be a little more… you know… forgiving?” 

 

“... Raphael, I hope you’re not suggesting that you  _ agree  _ with what he did.” 

 

“Of course not! I’m just suggesting that maybe we should’ve tried talking to him before all the casting out and- God, does Gabriel have a sword?” 

 

The two of them peered down to the center of the room. Gabriel did, indeed, have a sword. They knew what it was, of course, but they’d never needed such things before. 

 

Raphael turned his head and peered back over to Aziraphale. The feathers had parted even further than ever before, giving Raphael a near full look at his face. Even in his slightly terrifying, incorporeal cherubim form, he was still so soft and kind looking. His eyes were wide, a clear blue, a glass bottle holding the smallest amount of the waters from the lake where they met. 

 

The moment passes. Aziraphale turns, and his face becomes concealed once more. 

 

“I don’t know. God isn’t stopping us- and haven’t you seen the Great Plan? This is what we’re supposed to be doing.” 

 

“Well,  _ maybe God isn't _ -” Raphael’s words were cut off with the abrupt explosion of wings surrounding him, flapping and flailing wildly. Suddenly he was in Aziraphale’s space, so close, faces inches apart. Aziraphale looked  _ bewildered _ . 

 

“Don’t - Raphael, you can't just say things like that!” His eyes were wide, eyebrows high on his face, mouth aghast in horror. “They'll do to you what they did to Samael!” 

 

The two of them sat like that, for a moment. Raphael’s physical chest rose and fell, breath catching between them, and he scanned Az’s face for a few seconds, before Aziraphale seemed to go to speak again. 

 

“I'm finally being sent somewhere, Raphael. Not sure if you've managed to catch it, but that new world they're building- Earth? They're making a special garden there, and I'm being placed to protect it.” Aziraphale seemed to relax back, letting Raphael out of his grasp as his wings returned to their usual place. “I'm supposed to protect it, along with the first of humankind. I've heard about what they're going to be like. There's going to be that war between Heaven and Hell, yes- but they're making  _ life.”  _

 

Raphael had never seen Aziraphale so excited about something before. There was something about it that was inexplicably endearing, even if what came out of his mouth was eyebrow-raising. 

 

“So… God is making life… on a planet… destined to become a battlefield?” Raphael scowled. “Seems awful backwards.” 

 

“But that's just it! We can protect them, we can win the great war, and everything will be fine.” 

 

“My point is- why should we even make them experience war in the first place? You're all forcing them to suffer- completely needlessly by the way- for personal grudges? Pardon me if I can't help but not find that a decent or angelic move in the slightest.” Raphael’s voice had dipped into a growl, bordering on a  _ hiss.  _ The corners of his mouth had twisted downwards in a firm frown, eyebrows furrowed. 

 

“And what if you’re right? What then?  _ Oh, don’t mind me, just going to go for a little dip in the rivers of Hell!  _ It simply isn’t our job to question these sorts of things.” Aziraphale sighed quietly to himself. “Please watch yourself. They’re going to be really breathing down our necks, checking all the little potential cracks in the system so that the whole of Heaven doesn’t plummet downwards. Don’t think I can convince you to be totally quiet, but at least keep your head low till they relax a little bit. I’m worried about you.” 

 

The look Aziraphale sent Raphael’s way could’ve melted all the ice in the universe. Eyebrows slightly furrowed, with the corners of his mouth slightly turned down, expression full of such genuine concern it sent Raphael’s heart doing something strange. They’d talked all of two times, but here he was, concerning himself with someone else’s fate. Raphael couldn’t recall another heavenly being that had ever displayed such a level of immediate, warm kindness. 

 

“I’ll be fine, angel. They’re not going to kick me out.” Raphael muttered, his former harsh expression melting away into something more pensive. 

 

The two of them took a few moments to simply sit and exist near one another. A cacophony roared around them, but it was a whisper compared to their own internal chatterings. Raphael attempted to make conversation a while later, but Aziraphale stayed quiet. Even as the meeting drew to a close and the other beings made their way back out of the coliseum, even as the building became utterly silent, even as Raphael muttered a goodbye and made his way off to do God-knows-what, Aziraphale had stayed deep in thought. 

 

He didn’t want to admit it, but deep down, he could see how Raphael had a point. To create a planet full of life, only to promise it destruction in a few measly years… it did seem quite cruel. Then again, Aziraphale had yet to even see what this ‘life’ was! Perhaps it was something wretched. Or boring. Or a thousand other negative adjectives that he could attach onto ‘life’ to make it seem wholly unappealing. 

 

With a resigned sigh he finally stood up. It really was quite impossible to come to any sort of conclusion till he actually saw Earth, and what it held. Maybe it would be nothing at all, and this whole thing could be put behind them. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hoooo, chapter 2 time! Apologies for any mistakes, i'm a casual writer, etc etc 
> 
> I took a lot of liberties, again, with a ton of this stuff, on how heaven operates. I'm just here to have fun. Hopefully you enjoyed it!!! 
> 
> Find me on instagram, tumblr, or deviantart (i draw, too!): @gadridel

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to go with making Aziraphale a cherubim because it makes sense, considering how it was a cherubim who protected Eden? also I enjoy the thought that he was once a very high ranking angel. I took... many creative liberties writing this when it came to interpreting heaven and angels and whatnot. 
> 
> Writing is a very casual hobby and not something I take too seriously, pls forgive me for any mistakes 
> 
> I'm in the midst of a continuation for this! No idea how many chapters this will have. Probably not too many, I can't commit to long fics. However, this theory/au is so interesting it would be a crime to not write more for it. 
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it!!!!!! :D 💞💞
> 
> find me on Tumblr or DeviantArt at : gadridel


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